


you might just be the one

by return_0



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: F/M, Jopper, One Shot, Prom!!, Young Jopper, ancient greek themed party, no discus throwing while naked tho
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-10
Updated: 2019-10-10
Packaged: 2020-11-28 18:35:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,315
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20971148
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/return_0/pseuds/return_0
Summary: Hopper was certain the Olympians never felt so insulted and Zeus would strike a lightning bolt at that party at any moment now. Whose idea was it to make an Ancient Greece themed prom anyway?





	you might just be the one

**Author's Note:**

> hi! i wrote some words!  
(i study ancient greek so the lame mythology references are completely self-indulgent)  
(also please keep in mind that english is not my first language)

The school's gym was decorated with fake classical columns, fake grapes, and fake leaves, and the folding chairs and the reek of too many teenagers just made the whole thing feel very depressing, Hopper was certain the Olympians never felt so insulted and Zeus would strike a lightning bolt at that party at any moment now. Whose idea was it to make an Ancient Greece themed prom anyway?

Nobody was really into the theme clothing wise. The boys wore tuxedos and the girls, regular dresses. He heard Karen Wheeler saying ancient greek dresses were not very becoming for the feminine form, so everyone just looked very dislocated in the fake plastic Olympus. 

Jim Hopper didn't even know why he was there. He had broken up with his girlfriend the week before, so he was dateless. And not that he couldn't get another girl to come with him, but the girl he really wanted already had a date. That fucking idiot Lonnie Byers beat him to it. And apparently not only were they going to prom together but they were also dating? Could he even appreciate how funny Joyce was? How smart? God, he was grateful the lovebirds hadn't arrived yet and he needed to get away from this party before they did because he was not sure he could take it.

Hopper then crossed the gym walking past his classmates as they awkwardly danced under the watchful eyes of a few teachers who just as awkwardly stood in a corner, each of them holding a cup of punch he was sure had alcohol in it - no one could possibly stand to do that job sober. He opened the stuffy's gym back door and walked into the cool night.

-

Joyce was late to the prom thanks to Lonnie, who decided to pick up a fight with her for absolutely nothing then told her to get out of the car halfway to the school. Lonnie was like that sometimes, but he made her feel like she was somebody and at the time it seemed like a small price to pay. She continued on foot while her boyfriend circled the car and went God knows where. When she got to the school everyone was already in the gym and she suddenly felt stupid standing there outside alone in her dress made out of white sheets. She had thought the idea was great, since she would spend little money and look appropriate for the theme, but now she realised everyone would just make fun of her.

She wondered if Hopper was in there and who he was with. When he broke up with his girlfriend the week before she had secretly wished for him to ask her to be his date, but Lonnie came first and with him came the realization that Hopper would never ask her, it was just wishful thinking and she felt a little ashamed for it. 

Either way, she didn't really want to see him with another girl, not that she wasn't used to it, but tonight she already felt especially miserable, so she looked around for a place to sit and figure out how she'd get back home.

-

Now outside the gym, Hopper was about to reach for the bottle inside his jacket when he saw someone sitting under a tree not far from him. He squinted his eyes a little and felt a bit light headed when he realized it was Joyce.

As he approached he saw that she had her eyes closed and cigarette in hand, her pale skin glowing under the moonlight. Her legs were stretched in front of her and the white fabric of her dress sat gently on her body, showing off its form. She looked like a greek goddess to him, although they didn't have red lipstick or cigarettes in Ancient Greece. 

Her eyes shot open at the sound of his footsteps, ''God! Are you trying to kill me?'

He smiled warmly at her exaggerated reaction.

'Can I?' He asked vaguely gesturing towards her side. Joyce nodded.

He sat on the ground very close to her so that he could use the trunk of the tree to support his back too. 

'So is Aphrodite not going into the Olympus?' Hopper asked as he leaned in to get the cigarette she held on the hand opposite of him. She wore a different perfume today, he noticed.

Joyce looked puzzled for a second then scoffed at the reference. She never thought herself pretty, much to the contrary. Hours looking at herself in the blurry mirror of her bedroom, convinced her that her eyes and ears were too big, her mouth too small. Not to mention her inability to keep her back straight. And tonight? Well, tonight she felt more like Ariadne, abandoned on an island. 

'Well, you're not there either.'

'Didn't answer my question. Also, I _was_ there, but that party stinks. Literally.' Hopper now got the bottle from inside his jacket and took a gulp. 'And now that I found much better company I don't plan on going back. Unless you want to?' He offered her the bottle.

Joyce took a gulp trying not to wince as the taste of vodka hit her tongue, 'Not really'.

They stayed there under the tree alternating between cigarettes and the bottle of vodka, listening to the muffled sound of the music playing inside. They did that a lot at school - minus the vodka -, sharing cigarettes under the bleachers between classes. And sometimes during them.

Hopper got up in a sudden swift movement, catching Joyce out of guard.

'Let's dance.' He said, offering his hand.

'There's barely any music.'

'What? I can hear it clearly.' He said then started humming and snapping his fingers to the beat of the song playing inside. 

'You're ridiculous.' Joyce smiled and took his hand.

They swayed to the barely audible music until Hopper was no longer able to help his curiosity.

'So… Where's Lonnie?' He asked carefully. _Please tell it's all over between you two. Or that he died or something._ Joyce's body tensed up at the question and they stopped dancing.

She looked at him sternly and her cheeks burned, not from rage but from shame, 'It doesn't matter and I don't wanna talk about it.'

Joyce tried to conceal her feelings the best she could, but her dark expressive eyes left no feeling untold and Hopper didn't like what he saw there.

'What did that idiot do?' He asked clenching his fists and looking around as if he were about to hunt Lonnie down.

'Hop. Just forget him.' She said with a little smile on her lips, amused by his reaction.

She wanted him to forget about Lonnie? Well, he did. He leaned in and kissed her, Lonnie be damned. Joyce was surprised but the shock didn't last long and she quickly kissed him back. 

After a few minutes of bliss, they moved the make out session to Hopper's car, not without stopping several times on their way to the parking lot to kiss each other. Between kisses, cigarettes and pleasant conversation, the night passed quickly and they watched from the far end of the parking lot as the sky became lighter and their classmates started to leave the party.

Hopper drove Joyce home, barely resisting the urge to stop the car on the way there just to kiss her. He settled for resting his right hand on her thigh instead. When they got to her house, Joyce kissed him one more time and reluctantly got out of the car. _Am I going to kiss him again tomorrow?_

He waited for her to get inside the house, as she turned to look and smile at him one more time before she got inside, he felt the certainty of a prophecy down upon him, as if Hermes himself had whispered in his ear:

**She's the one.**

**Author's Note:**

> *blows kisses to the winonajas*


End file.
